Citizens gather in effort to keep Utah’s caucus system in place

Citizens gather in effort to keep Utah’s caucus system in place

OREM, Utah – Utah is one of only a few states in the country that uses a caucus and convention system for selecting political candidates, and this weekend a group determined to maintain that system gathered to kick off their efforts.

Keep our Caucus was created in response to efforts seeking to do away with Utah’s caucus system, like those of the group Count My Vote.

Supporters of the caucus system said it gives more people, including those without extensive political and financial resources, the chance to participate in the political process. The event featured a volunteer training meeting as well as a fundraising dinner.

Count My Vote seeks to put their proposal on the 2014 ballot, which would require more than 102,000 signatures by April 15. Members of Keep our Caucus are among those urging Utah voters not to do so.

Brandon Beckam is the chairman of the Keep our Caucus campaign, and he said their efforts are about education.

“We want to let the average citizen understand that by signing that petition they’re putting our system, basically in a situation where we could lose it all, and so our object is to prevent those signatures from happening,” he said.

Among those at the event were Mia Love, a candidate for Utah’s Fourth Congressional District, and Utah Representatives Mike Kennedy and Brian Greene.